


It's Never Too Late

by BrightTerror



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 15x18 is addressed, AND I CRIED, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Canon divergence-15x19, Cas is Saved, Cas is happy, Dean begrudgingly talks about his feelings, Dean deserved better than the finale and he got in in MY canon, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I wish i was drunk enough for that, M/M, Protective Dean Winchester, The Empty (Supernatural), Well this episode couldnt be fixed so i ignored it, What the fuck was that bullshit of a finale, ending sucked, everyone is happy, so I fixed it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27641515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightTerror/pseuds/BrightTerror
Summary: 15x20 who? That shit doesn't exist and this is a fix it canon divergence from 15x19This is set after Jack walked into the light with Amara and brought the people back.This actually shows the characters development and thoughts unlike the finale. (Yes I'm bitter)
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester
Comments: 10
Kudos: 72





	It's Never Too Late

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this after whatever he fuck happened tonight. Its 3am so, sorry for any typos.

“I learned from you, my mother, and Castiel that when people have to be their best, they can be.” Jack said, he paused for a few seconds before saying anything else, trying to prolong the inevitable, trying to prolong him leaving. Sure, he has more responsibilities now as the new god, so he won’t be around, he can’t. Not soon enough at least. “And that’s what to believe in… well, nearly as close as this.” He placed his hand on his heart for a few seconds before raising it up. “Goodbye.” He waited a few moments before walking away, disappearing into a light, leaving the brothers standing there. 

“See ya, Jack.” Sam whispered, watching his adopted kid blink out of there in an instance. He was going to miss him, but he knew he was at least okay, he was with Amara and they seemed fine. And who knows, maybe they will see each other again someday. 

Dean snapped him out of his thoughts about a minute after Jack left. “Dude, are you listening?” 

Sam inwardly winced, he had not been paying attention. “No, what is it?”

Dean blinked at him and raised his phone up. “Jack just went full god mojo on the earth, people are back. That means everyone we lost,  _ Cas _ , Bobby, Jody, Eileen, they could be back too.” he rang his speed dial, waiting for someone to pick up. 

Sam got out his phone at the same time and looked through his contacts, quickly Face Timing Eileen so if she was really back, he could talk to her. He was waiting impatiently, a glimmer of hope mixing with fear and doubt. He knew she was probably back now, but he didn’t know what he would do if she  _ wasn’t,  _ now that he had hope again he didn't want to lose it. 

He didn’t wait long; his video call was answered, and Eileen’s face popped in his phone. “Sam? What the hell happened?” 

Sam let out a breath he was holding and laughed. She was right there, she was back, she was alive. “You’re okay.” He said more for himself than to reassure her. “I’ll explain everything, just know everything is okay now, I just needed to know you were alive... I’ll make some calls and then call you back.” He made sure to mouth the words well so she could read his lips over the phone. 

“Okay, stay safe.” She smiled quizzically and hung up. 

Sam turned to his brother before calling anyone else to see if he had any luck. As soon as he saw Dean, he knew he didn’t share the same happy fate as he did. “Cas isn’t answering?”

Dean gripped his phone tight and closed his eyes for a second and shook his head. “I’ve called him five times… he should be picking up… Jack brought everyone back, why couldn’t he bring him too?” He shouted. He was angry, angry at the world, angry at himself, angry at Cas for leaving. He just wanted his angel back. 

Sam tightened his lips together and tensed. His elated feeling of happiness diminished, Cas wasn’t back... if he was hurt by that, he couldn’t imagine how much his brother was suffering. They did share a more profound bond after all, besides, he knew how much Cas meant to Dean. He couldn’t say sorry, that wouldn’t work, so he changed the subject to the next task. “I’m, I’m gonna go call Bobby, Jody and the girls to see if they are okay…” he trailed off. 

Dean took a few seconds, but he gave a nod and gulped before he spoke. “Sure, you uh, do that. I’ll call Charlie and Garth.” He decided. He had spent 40 years pushing his emotions down, guess this wasn’t time to stop anytime soon. 

Sam called Bobby right after, who thankfully he picked up, telling him he was back where he last disappeared and everyone else was there too, Donna included. “What the hell happened, ya idjit?” Sam noticed something was different with Bobby, it probably was nothing, but something felt different in the way he had said ‘idjit’. Reminded him of when he and Dean would get scolded by him when they were kids. 

Same as before, Sam told him he would explain later, once he called the rest. Then he called Jody, who was with the girls. Claire, Alex, Kaia and Patience were okay, confused as to what happened but overall unharmed. 

When he was done, he walked up to Dean, still leaning on his parked car, holding his phone to his ear. He waited until he hung up and decided to talk to Sam, not the other way around. 

“Charlie is okay, she is back, apparently Stevie is too. Garth didn’t speak too long but judging how he answered while he was dealing with an excruciatingly loud baby crying, I’m guessing they are okay.” He said curtly and put his phone in his pocket. 

Dean didn’t say anything else until he got back in the car, hands on the wheel. He stared at Sam for a few seconds, looking at him like he was a freak for standing on the busy road instead of in the car. “Sam? Are you done looking into the sunset or are you getting in? We have work to do.” 

Sam began scrambling to get in the car, he was frowning. “What?” As far as he knew they had defeated Chuck. What other work was there to do?

“We’re going to get Cas back. Whatever it takes.” Dean pushed onto the accelerator and the Impala’s engine roared through town as they passed by, leaving towards the bunker. Dean knew the best chance they would get to finding Cas had to be on the books or gadgets they had lying around back home. 

Dean was going to get Cas back, that was a fact. He was a stubborn son of a bitch so when he had his mind onto something, no one could make him do otherwise, not even Chuck himself, as proven by the latest events in their life. Cas was going to be back, it was not not a matter of if, but a matter of  _ when _ .

__________

“Dean… I want to bring him back too, but you can’t hole yourself up here this long. It’s been 5 days. You haven’t slept, you barely eat and are living off coffee and red bull and I don’t think I’ve seen you shower. You have to take a break.” Sam entered the main room, where Dean was sitting down, reading a book with at least ten other books open across the table. 

Dean glared at him, but he just looked  _ tired.  _ “You don’t understand, you weren’t there when he... you didn’t hear him. You have Eileen and think time is all we got, but the longer we wait the longer he is trapped in the Empty. and she hates Cas.” He scratched his stubble that was forming from not shaving. “I’m not stopping until he is back here with me, back with us.”

“Dean... you have been on the same page for ten minutes. You won't do him any good if you can’t even read a page without getting distracted.” He tried to coach his brother to rest, at least for a few hours. “I’ve been searching, I’ve asked all the hunters we know to research too. We will find a way, but you need to sleep.”

“If I sleep you have to read this book, if you find anything helps, even if it's a long shot, you come to me immediately.” He tried to bargain but it was said more as a command than a question. 

Sam nodded seriously. “Of course. I’ll take care of this, you sleep, and take a shower cause you stink.” He smirked. 

Dean just grumbled under his breath and went straight to his room. 

_________

“You really think this is going to work?” Dean stared at Rowena and Sam with a mixture of doubt and hope. He knew it sounded too good to be true, but for once life might be on their side. They didn’t have an evil writer, all knowing, God working against them. This might actually work. It  _ better _ . Or he won't know what he will do with himself. 

“As I’ve told Samuel, it's not certain, since we are dwelling in uncharted territories. What we’re doing is all theoretical.” Rowena glanced at Dean before putting some herbs onto a bowl. 

“But it’s worth a shot. It's theoretical, but it makes sense.” Sam shrugged. 

“So, what is all this again?”

Rowena sighed; she had explained this already. But her choices at the moment were to help the boys out or deal with a boring day in hell, so she decided to stick around. “We’ve still got the Death Key, which allows us to go to where Death keeps all her all-knowing books.” She pulled a strand of her away from her face and talked to Dean as if she was explaining something to a kid. “The Empty managed to get inside Death’s quarters, which means that the two dimensions, as to say, are connected, or intertwined somehow.” 

Dean didn’t even comment on Rowena treating him like a child, if she could get him Cas back, he would let it slide. Just this once. “Yeah, and?” 

“With a little, well, not little but a big and complicated spell that Samuel helped me with, it might be possible to change the Death’s door Key to an Empty Key, which can allow us to go there. Capiche?” She raised her eyebrows and gave him one of her usual smiles. 

Dean had to admit, not the worst plans he has heard, it might work. “Yeah, capiche. Now let’s do this whole magic thing and let’s get him back.” He clapped his hands together impatiently. 

“Hold your horses, boy. For once time isn’t running out and we can actually make sure the spell is done correctly and not wing it as we go.” She gave him a disapproving look. “I know you want your angel back. You probably want to tell him sorry for whatever you were fighting about last time I saw you two.” She grabbed a few more herbs to powder and mix. “Now be a dear and grab the Death Key.”

Dean exhaled loudly and went to get it. He was reaching his breaking point and when that happened, he didn’t think he would be able to hold all his anger in. Yes, he was impatient, but he deserved to be impatient for once. Everyone was so happy and with their loved ones, meanwhile he was constantly reminded of what he lost. 

He gave the key to Rowena. “Aren’t you dead and Queen of Hell, though. So technically you are not a witch anymore?”

“I might not be a witch anymore, but I still have my 300 years of experience and the book of the damned, which makes me more than qualified to make up the spell. Samuel here, is a great man to mentor since he is a natural at magic.” She patted his cheek and he glared at her. “He knows how to work the spells and he should be able to do it just fine.”

Sam’s face twitched and he gave a quick smile that wasn’t really genuine. He was concerned because he couldn’t let his big brother down, this was a chance to bring back part of his family and give Dean a shot at a happy ending, one that he very much deserved. 

“Ready Sam?” She waited for him to nod and then passed him the key. 

“Viator mortalis, cave quoniam scias Clavem Mortis pensare graviter.” Sam began chanting and lowered the key onto the bowl with the herbs Rowena had prepared for him. “Ex umbris ei mors. Homo viator adtendite scientes considerare claves inane contemnitur.” 

The bowl went up in a dark purple flame. It was gone in a second and the Key was left glowing a slim golden. 

Everyone stared at it, not saying anything, not wanting to breathe too hard as if that was to disrupt the spell. Dean was the first to speak. 

“Did it work?” He tried to look inside the bowl while staying at a reasonable distance. He wasn’t one to love or trust witchcraft, even if it was his brother who did the spell. He didn’t hate it, but he didn’t trust it. 

Sam cleared his throat and glanced at Rowena to question her. She shrugged. “I don’t know.” He wrinkled his nose as he did when he was unsure of something. “I said the words as the spell commanded it and she made sure the herbs were alright.” He scratched his head. “I guess all that’s missing is to try it out?”

Dean didn’t wait any longer. He grabbed the key and said the Latin words to activate it. The wall began to have glowing, yellow lines appear that outline a door, putting the key into the keyhole he opened the door. All he could see on the other side was pitch black, everything looked empty and he knew he was in the right place. 

He tossed Sam the key. “We don’t want the Empty to have that keep this open as long as you can. We will be back.” He left it unsaid how he was not returning without Cas. 

Sam didn’t have time to react when Dean crossed the door and disappeared into the pitch-black eternity. 

Dean staggered through the place, this definitely was not a place where humans were supposed to go, and his body knew it. It felt wrong, as if he was not in the right frequency with the place so every time he moved he felt fuzzy. That didn’t stop him. He kept walking, finding Cas was his priority. 

He called out for Cas. He didn’t care if he woke everything up and pissed off the Empty. She already hated them either way. “Cas! Cas!” He called as he walked through the nothing. 

Time was different there, it felt eternal but at the same time it was as if he was just there a few seconds. But he knew he had been walking a while judging by the aching joints in his legs and the raspy sound to his voice when he yelled from being used too much. 

That didn’t stop him

He called out for Cas. 

Again. 

And again. 

And again. 

Something moved near him, it could have been in front of him or a long time passed, sense of direction wasn’t something prevalent there. But it didn’t matter where it came from, there was someone nearby. 

“Cas?” 

That’s when he spotted him. What appeared a few feet away, there was someone laying down, with a trench coat, groaning. It seemed as if he was half awake and half unconscious. Dean didn’t know if it was because he was just waking up or because he was finally succumbing to eternal slumber. 

It didn’t matter, Cas was there and so was Dean. 

Dean ran to him, kneeled down and grabbed his shoulder. “Cas? C'mon man, you have to get up.” Dean didn’t care if he sounded desperate, concerned and scared. He  _ was  _ desperate and scared. He had Cas back with him and didn’t want to lose him now. Again. 

Cas groaned and opened one of his eyes halfway. “What?” he mumbled.

“Cas. It’s me, Dean. I’m getting you out of here. Let’s go.” He almost pleaded. 

“Dean?” Cas stood up with his help and leaned on him. He scrunched his eyes and tilted his head. Having no idea why Dean was there or  _ how  _ he was there, or if it even was Dean. 

Dean grinned in relief. Cas talked to him. Cas was there, alive... well technically he wasn’t alive yet, but he would be. “Yeah, Cas. It’s truly me, I promise.”

“What are you doing here?” Cas held onto him from support and because he missed him. Castiel was aware that this might just be a twisted dream made by the Empty to torture him. Yet something told him it wasn’t that. 

“It was my turn to grip you tight and raise you from perdition.” Dean shrugged, he said it in a low husky voice, clearly trying to imitate Cas but failing. 

Cas engulfed him in a hug, clutching him tight. Now he was convinced the thing in front of him was truly Dean Winchester and not a torture dream. Not even the empty could recreate Dean’s shitty impressions of him that well. He loved it. “Dean... what I said before…”

The other man shook his head and tugged him close so they could both walk. “We can talk about that later, right now we need to get out of here before we get killed... again.”

Cas didn’t have any other choice but to nod and follow. He wasn’t feeling his best, the Empty sure had a fun time torturing him before she went to sleep, and he wanted and needed to get Dean out of there before he got hurt. 

________

Sam was pacing back and forth near the Empty’s door. He had the key clutched in his hand and checked his watch every few seconds. Dean had gone for an hour now, and no sign of him. 

Rowena was reading a book, acting unconcerned but she was worried nonetheless. Sure, she was the Queen of Hell and all, but the Winchesters still had a place in her un-beating heart. “Relax, he will be back. Dean has died how many times? And he always comes back. Besides, you boys defeated God, everything else is breezy compared to that.” She pointed out. “Now sit down or you will make a hole in the floor straight to hell from all that pacing. I don’t want to deal with plumber problems.” 

Sam did his usual Bitch Face at her and continued pacing. A few minutes more and he was prepared to go look for his brother when the door opened. 

Dean had Cas’ arm around his shoulder and was helping him up. The door closed as soon as they stepped through and Sam made sure to lock it before watching it disappear. 

“Cas!” Sam smiled and went for a hug. He stepped back when Dean told him to give him space. Cas was alive, yeah, but he needed rest. “It’s good to have you back.”

Rowena ignored Dean’s death glare and walked towards Cas. She patted him on the head and grinned. “Welcome to the land of the living, again.”

Cas huffed and looked at her. “You’re dead.” he pointed out.

Rowena laughed. “Eh, semantics. I might be dead, but I  _ am _ in the world of the living.” She booped his nose. “Take care of your Winchester, dear. I’m not helping them with any major cosmic things again.” She picked her things and was about to leave but turned to Sam. “I might not help you boys, but I’ll still visit for some teatime. Bye Samuel.” She winked at him and in a blink, she was gone. She had a Hell to raise after all. 

“Sam, I’m taking him to his room.” He said. Being extra clear he wasn’t dealing with anything or anyone until the angel was better. 

Sam took the hint and left to his room with a smile on his face. Dean was finally going to be okay and for once he could stop worrying about him. Sitting in his desk he took out his tablet and video called Eileen to tell her the good news. He heard the two of them talk faintly as Dean took him to his room.

“But what about Chuck-” Cas tried to ask. If they were in the midst of fighting God, he couldn’t afford to rest even though he very much needed it. 

“Chuck’s gone. I’ll tell you everything once you’re better.” Dean told him reassuringly. 

_________

Dean was drinking a beer, sitting on a chair next to Cas’ bed where the angel was sleeping. Yeah angels didn’t need sleep but apparently this one did, and it was under valid circumstances given he just came back from the dead once again. 

He had probably been sitting there for the past seven hours but he didn’t mind his stiff neck or his twisted back that was complaining about being in the same sitting position for too long. He didn’t care. He had Cas and he was damned if he was going to let him out of his sight. 

While he waited, he had time to be alone with his thoughts, his emotions he had worked so hard to ignore. He wasn’t a fan of confronting his feelings, but they had to come out at some point. There’s only so much he can do with transforming every emotion to anger. It had worked in the past, when it was all about survival. But now it wasn’t about surviving anymore, now he could have a chance to live. 

Which brings him back to the elephant in the room: Cas’ speech before he died. Dean had not entirely processed what happened yet. One moment they were running from death, waiting for both their ends. The next moment Cas was telling him about some deal he made. 

He didn’t understand it then, why he had suddenly brought it up... before he could think too long about it, Cas had begun to talk about  _ him _ , about how he was so loving and so great. Dean’s brain stopped working after that, he never took compliments well, but Cas was saying them with such conviction, such love, Dean didn’t know how to react. Next thing he knew, Cas said he loved him.  _ Loved him. _

Dean had so much information thrown at him at once he didn’t know where to even begin to answer. He had been confused about so many things, but he  _ knew _ after the speech, that Cas was going to sacrifice himself. 

His brain only had the capacity to say “don’t do this Cas” because he was so shocked, so stunned. The days following his death, Dean berated himself for not saying anything else, he could have said something more. 

He locked those thoughts away, needing to help Sam and Jack defeat Chuck. But now, here he was, not being able to look away. 

Dean didn’t know how to process those three words Cas told him.  _ I love you _ . 

He was stunned. Did he care for Cas? Sure, they were family, and he would do anything for him. Cas had been his lifeboat in the past. He made it through hell and back, through purgatory, through everything with him. Giving him hope and happiness in a hopeless place. Dean knew what it was to live in a world without Cas and that is not a world he wanted to live in. But did he have feelings for Cas?

Well he did always bring a smile to his face. Every time Cas entered a room he was in, Dean instantly looked for him, making sure he was alright. He always made sure Cas was okay, even if they were mad at each other or in disagreeing…  _ oh _ . Yes, he had feelings for Cas. 

Did he love Cas? After all the thinking he just did, the answer was simple. He  _ did  _ love him. 

Now the next important question was, if Cas loved  _ him _ back. Sure, he said he loved him. But Cas was an angel, and he wasn’t sure if they felt emotions the same way. Maybe Cas said he loved him in his angel way, maybe it wasn’t love like how Dean loved him. 

Dean let his head fall to his hands. What the hell was he going to do. 

“Dean.” The man in question didn’t have time to overthink everything because Cas woke up and called for him. 

Dean’s eyes snapped towards Cas. “Hey.” He smiled. “You alright?”

Cas took a moment to assess himself. “I am fine. Getting away from the empty helped wonders.” He looked at Dean and squinted at the Chair next to him and the bottles of beer lying around. “Did you stay here all the time?”

Dean shrugged and took a sip from his almost empty beer. “Had to make sure you wouldn’t do anything stupid like getting killed again.” He joked, no real harshness to the statement. 

Cas glared at him and tilted his head once more. “I had to save you.” He said with a mixture of pure conviction and fondness. Then his whole face expression changed as he remembered his last speech to Dean. He wouldn’t take anything back; he meant every word he said. But it did bring him some dread to see his response. 

He was fully expecting to never have to deal with Dean’s reaction... with his rejection. He said it and died. Now he was back, he had to deal with the horrifying ordeal of telling someone he loved his feelings for them and having to wait for a response. 

“Dean… before I died...”

Dean took a deep breath. It was now or never. He decided. “You told me that the one thing you want, is something you know you can’t have…” Dean began, he had no idea what was coming out of his mouth next. He wasn’t one for chick flick moments, but this was a much needed one.

Cas had been around humans long enough and knew Dean well enough that he braced himself for rejection. 

“Well, you are wrong.” Dean said. 

Cas looked up, confused.  _ What.  _

“The thing you want, you can have it.” Dean tried to reword it. He was trying to get his point across without actually having to say the words. He wanted Cas to know, he was  _ trying  _ but feelings and talking about them was not a natural thing for him. 

Cas stared at him, without blinking or moving an inch for a full minute. Then his face went through a myriad of emotions. First, there was shock, as if he couldn’t believe what he heard. Then there was fondness. His eyes were full of love and his face was soft and tender from looking at Dean and hearing his subtle confession. And lastly, there was happiness. 

Pure, unlimited, happiness. 

He never thought he would be able to feel this happy and enjoy the aftermath of it. He thought his most happy moment ever had been when he told Dean about his feelings.  _ It's in just saying it.  _ Which wasn’t wrong, just saying it had been thrilling, a catharsis. 

But hearing him reciprocating? That was  _ beautiful _ . 

Cas grinned with his whole face, his eye wrinkles were more pronounced, and his eyes metaphorically shone. 

Dean saw the entire face journey and thought he fucked up for a second and misunderstood everything until the last part, when Cas smiled, he smiled back. 

Cas internally said  _ fuck it, I died too many times, I’ll risk it.  _ And leaned in to kiss him, Dean kissed back, and he could feel yet another smile forming against his mouth. 

Dean pulled back and laughed. He was happy. This was new to him, but it was a good type of new. He wanted to cherish this forever. “Well I guess you  _ did  _ mean romantic I love you huh.” He grinned. “Good to know.”

Cas looked at him for a few seconds. Did Dean really think his whole speech had been anything but romantic? Judging by Dean’s reaction he wasn’t kidding. “You’re an idiot.” He said fondly. 

Dean blinked at him before smiling and giving him a quick kiss again. “Yeah but I’m your idiot.” 

Yeah. Everything was looking up. And for once, he truly believed it was going to stay that way.

**Author's Note:**

> If you watched the finale you are entitled to emotional compensation...   
> Seriously what the fuck was that. Both the characters and actors deserved better and i am mad. 
> 
> Anyways, i hope you enjoyed this. I am planning on making a series, so i can add the rest of the characters and Jack (because he will be back) and make them happy. Would y'all be interested in reading it?


End file.
